TH400 Kickdown Change
Mechanical To Electrical
BG: I just swapped out a 6 cylinder with a Powerglide for a 396 with a TH400. Everything is fine except for the kickdown. The Powerglide has a kickdown linkage but the TH400 has an electrical kickdown. Can anyone help me set this up, what parts do I need?BT: I did this swap; we had gotten a kit from the local speed shop. It had a switch and bracket that bolted to a Holley carburetor and I ran the wires from there. It doesn't look factory but it was easy to get. If you can find one get the original switch.
GM: There is a slide switch which mounts on the bracket which holds the gas pedal. It is mounted so that it is actuated when the gas pedal is beyond about 2/3 of its travel. The switch has two wires: one (pinkish) goes to the ignition terminal on the fuse block. The other (yellow) goes to the terminal on the transmission. On my '68, the wire goes through the firewall by itself, through a hole which is about 1/2' in diameter with a rubber plug. It's located above the driver's side valve cover on the firewall. The pink wire that gets plugged into the fuse block also has an additional connector wired to it to allow other accessories to be connected to the same terminal if required.
F_: When I changed my '72 I got my friendly parts guy to order a switch from GM. The switch is still available but the mounting bracket is not, so get your friendly parts guy to photo-copy the page and make one. You remove the pedal and it mounts behind it.
Archivist: Tom Wilson
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